Books published by publisher The History Press

The largest, most luxurious ship in the world, wrecked on her maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg mid-Atlantic, has become the stuff of legends. While everyone knows the new White Star liner was glamorous, full of millionaires when she sank, few appreciate just how luxurious she was. Even in Third Class, the accommodation was better than on First Class on many older ships. For the first time, Bruce Beveridge, Steve Hall, Scott Andrews and Daniel Klistorner look at the construction and exterior of the ship itself, and at her interior design and fittings. From cobalt blue Spode china and Elkington plate silverware in the à la carte restaurant to the design of the boilers and fixtures and fittings on board the world’s most luxurious vessel, they tell the story of a liner built at the peak of the race between the British, French and Germans to build bigger and better ships

The natural wonder of the Adirondack Mountains in New York State can inspire the entire family. How high do the peaks stretch? What do kilns do? And what, exactly, is a "yarn"? Educator Melinda Mackesey answers these and other questions through stories, fun facts and seven exciting activities about the plants, animals, places and faces that are uniquely Adirondack.

Pennsylvania, first home of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, has a tradition of political progress. However, along with the good, the political playground of Pennsylvania has also seen the brazenly bad behavior of its political leaders. For over twenty-five years, political columnist John Baer has had a front-row seat to the foibles and follies of the Keystone State's political system. Baer takes readers through his memories of covering state politics for the last quarter century, from Democratic governor Milton Shapp's short-lived run for president--in which he finished behind "no preference" in the Florida primary--to highlights of some of the game-changing campaign missteps and maneuvers that moved administrations in and out of the capital. With a delightfully gruff wit, Baer gives readers a behind-the-scenes view of the politics and personalities that have passed through Harrisburg.

In February 1862, after defeats at Bull Run and at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, the Union army was desperate for victory on the eve of its first offensive of the Civil War. The strategy was to penetrate the Southern heartland with support from a new "Brown Water"? navy. In a two-week campaign plagued by rising floodwaters and brutal winter weather, two armies collided in rural Tennessee to fight over two forts that controlled the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Those intense days set the course of the war in the Western Theater for eighteen months and determined the fates of Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew H. Foote and Albert Sidney Johnston. Historian James R. Knight paints a picture of this crucial but often neglected and misunderstood turning point.

Overview For thirty-one years, the RMS Queen Mary sailed the North Atlantic. It helped defeat Hitler and was the ship of choice for the world's rich and famous. Now in retirement in the Port of Long Beach, the "Stateliest Ship Afloat" plays host to tourists, travelers and more than six hundred spirits that roam her halls and passageways. These choice decks remain the floating home of a few regulars, including the oft-glimpsed White Lady, as well as Little Jackie, John Henry and, of course, Grumpy. Join paranormal investigators Brian Clune and Bob Davis as they take you to the hot spots of activity from port to starboard and relate tales from the dockside about the spirits that haunt the grandest liner ever built.

When the world learned that Wilbur and Orville Wright had performed man's first powered, controlled flights at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, that sleepy village became an international landmark. In addition to recording their first flight in one of the twentieth century's most famous photographs, the Wrights took hundreds of other images of the windswept clime and the people they met on North Carolina's coast. Historian Larry Tise uses their photographs to reveal people, places and events nowhere else recorded. Join Tise for a guided tour of the Wright brothers' Outer Banks encampment between 1900 and 1911.

At 11:37 p.m. on August 17, 1959, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake rocked Montana's Yellowstone country. In an instant, an entire mountainside fractured and thundered down onto the sites of unsuspecting campers. The mammoth avalanche generated hurricane-force winds ahead of it that ripped clothing from backs and heaved tidal waves in both directions of the Madison River Canyon. More than two hundred vacationers trapped in the canyon feared the dam upstream would burst. As debris and flooding overwhelmed the river, injured victims frantically searched the darkness for friends and family. Acclaimed historian Larry Morris tells the gripping minute-by-minute saga of the survivors who endured the interminable night, the first responders who risked their lives and the families who waited days and weeks for word of their missing loved ones.

Philadelphia's relationship with the underground is as old as the city itself, dating back to when Quaker settlers resided in caves alongside the Delaware River more than three hundred years ago. The City of Brotherly Love later became a national and world leader in the delivery of water, gas, steam, and electricity during the industrial age. The construction of multiple subway lines within Center City took place during the early twentieth century. An intricate subsurface pedestrian concourse was also developed throughout the downtown area for the city's inhabitants. From Thirtieth Street Station and Reading Terminal to the Commuter Rail Tunnel and transit lines that were never built, Philadelphia's infrastructure history is buried under the earth as much as above. Join authors Harry Kyriakodis and Joel Spivak as they reveal the curious aspects of the Quaker City's underground experience.

Cecilia is Catholic. Rose is Jewish. Their worlds seem so different as they struggle to find hope in New York City's crowded tenements in 1911. Fate and circumstance bring the unlikely pair together, but they must keep their friendship secret until they are forced to work in a garment factory to support their families. When fire erupts at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the friends bravely face the tragedy together, forever altering both of their futures. This story of friendship, heartache and spirit blends fact with fiction for an unforgettable glimpse into this harrowing episode in American history.

In 1764, a small town in the British colony of Massachusetts ignited a bold rebellion. When Great Britain levied the Sugar Act on its American colonies, Parliament was not prepared for Boston's backlash. For the next decade, Loyalists and rebels harried one another as both sides revolted and betrayed, punished and murdered. But the rebel leaders were not quite the heroes we consider them today. Samuel Adams and John Hancock were reluctant allies. Paul Revere couldn't recognize a traitor in his own inner circle. And George Washington dismissed the efforts of the Massachusetts rebels as unimportant. With a helpful guide to the very sites where the events unfolded, historian Brooke Barbier seeks the truth behind the myths. Barbier tells the story of how a city radicalized itself against the world's most powerful empire and helped found the United States of America.

They say that history is written by the victors, and consequently there is a tendency for the Britons to be forgotten in the story of the end of Roman Britain and the post-Roman period. Warlord will redress this balance looking at the extraordinary lives of British leaders from 400-550 and the strategies they used to seize and hold power during these turbulent times. The book focuses on key figures who have been largely neglected in history over the last 30 years. Starting with Gerontius, who rebelled against the Roman establishment, the story then turns the key figures of Vortigern and Ambrosius, who were faced with the Anglo-Saxon invasion, and finishes with a look at how British warlords such as Cerdic were forced to adapt to the situation and were compelled to seek power by working with the new Anglo-Saxon powerbase.

Fly-fishing has its sacred waters the world over. Yellowstone National Park claims some of the craft's most storied destinations. Casting in the Firehole River is like going back in time to when bison roamed nearly every meadow in the West. Restored to their natal streams after near extinction, native Arctic grayling can once again be plucked from icy water at the foot of breathtaking waterfalls. Meanwhile, a daylong hike into true wild country rewards an angler with a chance to catch trophy native cutthroat trout on a lonely mountain lake. Local journalist and experienced angler Chris Hunt crafts both a guide and homage to Yellowstone's iconic and wild trout.